Gender of nouns - Easy Learning Grammar

In some languages, nouns have gender. This means that a noun causes other words such as adjectives to change their spelling according to certain rules. Grammatical gender has little to do with biological gender. English does not have grammatical gender for nouns.On the other hand, the biological gender of the thing or person referred to does affect a few areas of English grammar.

a cow…sheorit

a bull…heorit

a girl…she

a boy…he

Gender distinctions are relevant where personal pronouns (Personal pronouns) and possessive determiners (Determiners) have to be decided on. These distinctions are only noticeable in singular nouns.

Hefoundhis book.

Hehad been looking forit.

Shefoundher book.

Shehad been looking forit.

There are also special cases, such as the association of neuter gender with babies and small animals, or feminine gender with a vehicle.

I just saw amouse.Itwas running across the room.

Thespiderwas spinningits web.

Thebeetlecrawled intoits hole.

The babythrew downitsrattle.

I’ve got a new boat;she’sa real beauty.

Nouns denoting male persons and animals are masculine in that they are used with the pronouns and possessive determiners he, him, his.Nouns denoting female persons and animals are feminine in that they are used with the pronouns and possessive determiners she, her, hers.

Barry saw Linda.Hecalled out toherthathehad foundherbook.

Marcia saw Paul.Shecalled out tohimthatshehad foundhisbook.

Madeleine saw Kim.Shesaid ‘Hello’ toher.

The pronouns and possessive determiners used to refer to common or neuter nouns are: it, its.

The truthwill emerge.Italways does.

Nouns denoting inanimate objects and abstract notions are also neuter.

Some nouns denoting people have the same form for masculine and feminine. Nouns used for a group, e.g. government or team, have common or neuter gender, even when we know that the group is made up exclusively of male or female members.

Thegovernmenthas changeditspolicy.

Theteamhas wonitsfirst medal at a major championship.

With some nouns of common gender it might be possible to specify the gender if we had sufficient information. But if we do not have this knowledge, the choice of pronoun or possessive determiner becomes a problem.

a driver…he/she

the cook…he/she

doctor…he/she

As a way around this problem, in informal and spoken English, their is often used after a singular noun or an indefinite pronoun. See Pronouns. Some people consider this grammatically unacceptable, but it is widely used to avoid repetitions of his or her or him or her.

Eachstudentmust apply tohis or hertutor for an extension.

Everyonemust apply totheirtutor for an extension.

Someonehas lefttheircoat in my room.

The specialized terms used to name male, female and neutered animals show a number of gender differences.

horse

mare

stallion

gelding

–

cow

bull

steer

sheep

ewe

ram

–

Gender differences are also shown in the nouns that indicate relationships.

parent

mother

father

child

daughter

son

Many nouns denoting an occupation have no explicit gender.

engineer

doctor

programmer

mechanic

lawyer

driver

Some occupations and professions have a special feminine form for the noun.

Call your bankmanagertoday.

Sue ismanageressof a hairdressing salon.

Actorsfrom all over the UK attended the ceremony.

Here in the studio to talk about her new book isactressMary Farrell.

Many people prefer to avoid these forms, regarding the distinction as unnecessary.

J.K. Rowling is a highly successfulauthor.

Judi Dench is one of our finestactors.

Michelle Stewart has been promoted to BranchManager.

The forms authoress and poetess are now considered patronising and are rarely used.Some speakers prefer to use a different form of the word or an entirely different word in order to avoid a gender-marked noun.

the chairman

the chairperson

thechair

If necessary, the gender of a common noun can be made clear by adding a descriptive term such as woman or male/female.

Would you prefer to seea woman doctor?

Male staffshould use locker room B.

If we are discussing a country from an emotional, economic, or political viewpoint we sometimes use feminine gender.